Douglas, Elizabeth 'Betty' Asche (American/Western PA, 1930-2023) Heritage, acrylic on canvas panel, late 20th/early 21st century, signed at lower right, gallery stickers including title verso. Canvas board 20 x 16 inches, in a photo finish frame 22 x 18 inches. Elizabeth 'Betty' Asche Douglas was a prolific visual artist, musician, and educator. Douglas received the Andrew Carnegie Scholarship to study painting and design in the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon), where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She was the first Black student to attend Carnegie Tech in the Department of Painting and Design. Her Master of Arts in the History of Art and Architecture came from the University of Pittsburgh. Following graduation, she taught at several Southern Universities before becoming art director at SEPIA Magazine, and worked with John Howard Griffin, whose investigative journalism led to the book, Black Like Me, that played a key role in the U.S. civil rights struggle. In the early 1960’s Professor Douglas returned to academia, accepting an appointment to the faculty of Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA. She rose to a full professorship and was coordinator of the team-taught interdisciplinary humanities curriculum. She received many awards for professional excellence throughout her career: Woman of Distinction in the Arts from the Western PA Girls Scouts; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream-Makers Award from the Baden Academy School; Lifetime Service Award, Rochester Chamber of Commerce and the Larry Bruno Recognition Award. She has been included in multiple editions of Who’s Who in America, in the East, and of American Women. Elizabeth served on the boards of directors of several community organizations, among which are the Merrick Art Gallery Associates, the Beaver Valley Musicians Union, The Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, the Guild Council of the Pittsburgh Center of the Arts, the Midland Arts Council and Scholarship Chair of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who’s Who community, Elizabeth Asche Douglas has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. She was also a member of the historic collective of African American women visual artists, Women of Visions. In addition to her above achievements, and upon her retirement in 1996, she had served as Professor Emerita Elizabeth (Betty) Asche Douglas and taught Humanities at Geneva College for 30 years. Since her retirement in 1996, she had served as the owner/director of the Douglas Art Gallery in Rochester, Pa. Her works of art have been exhibited in permanent collections and temporary exhibits at numerous galleries. She is an archived artist at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Condition
Two minor scrapes, several accretions in the upper right quadrant area, frame with some abrasions.